1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image formation apparatus and, more particularly, to an image formation apparatus which has a conveying system for a recording medium in a continuous paper form such as fan fold paper, a recording means for forming images along the entire width of the recording medium, and the like.
2. Related Background Art
Conventional image formation apparatuses of the type described above are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,173 whose assignee is the same as that of the present invention. The apparatus disclosed in that patent has a recording means (with a convey system and a liquid jet recording device which can be connected and disconnected with ease), and a recovery means for recovering ejection of the liquid jet recording device. When the convey system and the recording device are disconnected, replacement of the recording medium and maintenance of the respective parts is easy. When the convey system and the recording device are connected, the respective parts are appropriately arranged, and high-quality images can be formed.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an image recording system including a host computer and a recording apparatus. The recording apparatus includes an ink jet recording head, a predetermined image data generating device, an error detecting device, and an on-line/off-line selecting device. The error detecting device checks the condition of the recording apparatus and detects any errors. In the on-line mode of the system, the recording head is capable of recording images on a recording medium in response to image data supplied from the host computer. In the off-line mode, the recording head is capable of recording a predetermined image on the recording medium in response to the predetermined image data supplied from the predetermined image data generating device. The selecting means selects the on-line mode when the error detecting means does not detect an error and selects the off-line mode when the error detecting means detects an error.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an image recording system having a host computer and a recording apparatus. The recording apparatus includes a communication control section having a first central processing unit for receiving data signals from the host computer through a communication path. The communication control section stores the image data from the received data signal in an image memory. The recoding section includes a recording head that is movable relative to the recording medium and records an image on the recording medium in response to the image data stored in the image memory. The mechanism control section includes a second central processing unit for controlling movement of the recording head relative to the recording medium.